"Two-way" recliner chair is a term used in industry to describe a recliner chair whose seat and backrest are interconnected such as by a rigid interconnection to move together as a unit between generally upright and reclining positions relative to a fixed primary support structure such as a base, for example. This is to be contrasted with a "three-way" reclining chair in which the seat and back are free to move relative to each other as the chair moves between the upright and reclining positions. The term "wall-avoiding" is used herein to describe a reclining chair which may be a two-way reclining chair or a three-way reclining chair in which the seat moves forwardly relative to a base support structure when moving to reclining positions so that the chair may be placed adjacent a wall without the backrest striking the wall when the chair is moved into reclining positions.
The present invention relates to a two-way wall-avoiding reclining chair and although such chairs as a braod category are not new to the art, the present invention provides a novel and improved chair of the type indicated. Prior to the present invention, two-way wall-avoiding recliner chairs were characterized by including a basic support structure in the form of the armrests of the chair with the backrest and seat assembly being mounted to the armrests. The wall-avoiding travel of the backrest and the seat assembly was achieved by the chair occupant exerting pressure on the backrest which was utilized to drive the armrests rectilinearly forwardly along a track or an equivalent restraining guide system. The use of such a track system has disadvantages because the tracks require precision construction and assembly to prevent jamming of parts in the track and malfunctioning of the chair movement after repeated usage of the chair. The vibration of parts moving along the track is also thought to create a discomforting feeling to the chair occupant. In adition, to achieve the necessary wall-avoiding travel not only must the armrests be moved forwardly along the tracks but furthermore, in some cases, additional linkage systems must be provided for ensuring sufficient wall-avoiding travel of the seat and backrest; the result being that the linkage mechanism becomes complicated and expensive because of the number of parts required. A two-way recliner chair utilizing a track system to provide wall-avoiding action are shown in United States patent to Re' U.S. Pat. No. Re. 28,210.